A Common Connection
by TigerLily940
Summary: The story of a friendship that forms between Blake and Velvet as a result of their difficult pasts being a Faunus in a human ruled world. Rated T for mild violence and racism.
1. New Bow, New Life

_**~This is my first fan fiction so I am eager to hear what you think. I was inspired by my love for RWBY and thought Velvet could be a more important character. I also I hope you enjoy! I don't own RWBY or any of the characters, that privilege belongs to the geniuses at Roosterteeth.**_

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**Chapter 1- New Bow, New Life**

Blake Belladonna was eleven years old. She was walking home from the library with a new book in her hand. Blake had loved books for as long as she could remember. Her father always said that, when she was little, she wouldn't go to bed without a bedtime story. Her mother used to - no. She mustn't think about her mother. It brought up too many painful emotions and memories. As Blake walked home, she spotted some people on the sidewalk coming towards her. Her heart started to beat faster, as it did whenever she saw strangers. She instinctively ducked her head and moved to the side, hoping that these people would just leave her alone and she could avoid trouble this one day. She was not so lucky.

When the groups of teenagers, probably averaging around sixteen, saw her they started elbowing each other and pointing then they came up to her and said, "Hey kitty kitty. Want to play a game?" Blake just shook her head and took a nervous step back. The cat ears on top of her head flattened anticipating what was coming next. The kid that Blake took to be the leader stepped forward. He was big. One of the biggest boys Blake had ever seen. He raised his hand and Blake flinched, but no blow came. The boy snatched the book out of her hand.

"Hey!" Blake shouted, startled. "That's mine. Give it back!"

The group just laughed. "Look, the filthy Faunus thinks she has the right to own something. I like this one. She's... feisty. Come here kitten. Let me show you something." The leader gestured for her to step forward, so Blake took a tentative step forward. That was when all hell broke loose. The entire group started wailing on her. Blake screamed and tried to get away, but they were too strong. Finally, once Blake was beaten so that every part of her body ached, they backed off. The leader stepped forward. Blake didn't even have the strength to flinch as he spit on her and said, "Filthy Faunus scum. They think they're so special. Well let me tell you something, kitten. The lot of you should be wiped off the face of the planet. We're only letting you live cause you're just a kid, but if we ever see the likes of you around here again, acting like you are anything more than what you are, well, let's just say it won't be pretty."

With that they left, leaving Blake huddled in a ball unable to move, in the middle of the sidewalk. The worst part wasn't the physical beating she had taken. She had endured more than her fair share of violence, growing up as a Faunus. The worst part was the looks that she got from the people walking past. Looks that said, _That's right, stay down, _and_ Finally, someone taught that trash a lesson._ Blake must have layed there for an hour before her father found her, scooped her up and carried her home. He tended to her wounds and, before long, she was starting to feel a bit better. Physically, at least. Then her father walked into the room holding something in his hand.

"Blake" he started, "This belonged to your mother. I've held on to it, hoping that you wouldn't need to use it but I see now that there is no other option." He held out what appeared to be a silk black ribbon. Blake took it reverently, and rubbed the smooth material between her fingers. Slowly, Blake looked up and asked her father

"What is it? Why do I need it?" Her father looked at her and spoke in a very deliberate voice, willing her to understand why he had given it to her.

"Blake, this was your mother's bow. I'm giving it to you now so that you can wear it in public to hide your ears. I'm not giving it to you because I'm ashamed of you. Just the opposite. I love you so much and I can't stand to see you be hurt like you were today. If you wear this, people won't know that you are a Faunus, and you can avoid all the hateful remarks and physical abuse. I wish it didn't have to come to this, but I don't see any way around it. Please understand, Blake, I love you so much and... your mother did too." He added the last part slowly, nervously, unsure of how his daughter would react to the mention of her deceased mother. Blake looked at him with fresh tears in her eyes and hugged him ferociously.

"Thank you, Daddy. I'll wear it everyday in honor of Mom" she gushed, surprising herself with the sudden outbreak of emotion.

"You're welcome, Sweetheart. You're mother would be so proud of you."


	2. A Chance Meeting

Chapter 2- A Chance Meeting

When Velvet arrived at Beacon Academy, she knew that it was going to be difficult. She expected to get made fun of and picked on because of her Faunus heritage. The large bunny ears on top of her head were like a billboard asking people to tease her. She made a promise to herself before she even stepped foot through the gates of Beacon. She would not use her training to get back at her enemies. She had to make sure that she kept a level head even in the most trying of times. Velvet was so lost in thought as she walked through the doors to the school, that she didn't she the girl, clad in all black with a strange bow atop her head, that was walking towards her. The other girl had her nose in a book so when they reached each other, they collided, knocking each other over. Velvet immediately started to apologize but the dark clothed girl simply held her hand up and said

"No, it was just as much my fault as yours. I should have been watching where I was going instead of reading my book." As they helped each other up, Velvet studied this stranger. Despite her strange choice in clothes, she was a rather pretty girl. What surprised Velvet most was the simple fact that she was being kind to her. Velvet had expected her to yell at her or worse, but this girl had treated her like, well, like a person. She realized that the girl had spoken again.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Velvet asked.

The girl replied "I said, my name is Blake. What is your's?".

"Velvet, Velvet Scarlatina."

"That's a pretty name. I hope to see you around Velvet." Blake said as she turned and walked off, returning to her book. Velvet continued on her way as she thought about her odd encounter with the girl called Blake. She decided then that she would seek her out and try to get to know her better. She also hoped to find out why Blake had been so kind to her when nearly everyone that she met was nothing but cruel to her. Velvet tried to come up with an explanation but the only thing she could come up with was that she must have grown up incredibly sheltered from all the White Fang uprisings. It was the only thing that made sense.

Velvet was in for a big surprise.

**_~Hey sorry this one was a bit short. I just wanted to focus on their first interaction with each other. The next one will be longer. Please feel free to give me advice and suggestions! Thanks for reading!_**


	3. Memories and Realizations

Chapter 3- Memories and Realizations

The teams had just been sorted and Blake found herself on team RWBY. She had seen that all of her teammates had exceptional fighting skill, however she was nervous about how they were all going to get along. Especially Weiss. Blake didn't have any real problem with her, however it was obvious that Ruby and Yang were less than thrilled to have her on their team. Blake had to admit that she was a bit disappointed that Velvet wasn't on her team. She had heard that, despite her sweet exterior, she was a fierce warrior. "Oh, well." Blake thought. Then Ruby suggested that they all go out for a walk in town and try to get to know each other better. Blake thought that sounded like a great idea so she got up and held open the door for the rest of her teammates.

As they walked through town, they started to speak of their pasts. Yang and Ruby started, mostly because Yang liked to talk. A lot. Blake found out that Yang's family had adopted Ruby at a very young age because both of her parents had died when a Grimm attacked them. Ruby told them that it was one of the reasons she wanted to be a huntress.

"Not out of revenge, or anything like that," Ruby said quickly, "I just want to protect people so they don't have to lose anyone the way I did."

"That's very mature of you." Blake said. Ruby looked up at her and smiled. It was then that Blake saw a man with violent red hair and small brown horns coming towards them, and froze.

"Blake, what is it?" Ruby asked, concern obvious on her face. The others looked at her expectantly, but Blake couldn't move or speak. She could only stare at him and think of what he would do to her for that day so long ago.. "No, not here. How did he find me?". Blake hadn't realized that she had spoken aloud. Immediately, her team began looking around for the threat. The man had finally reached their group and grabbed Blake's arm.

"Adam, please." Blake whispered.

"I believe you and me have some unfinished business, kitten." Adam snarled.

"Hey, that's my teammate you got there. It would be best if you let her go, or else this could get real ugly, real fast." The ferocity with which little Ruby spoke surprised and impressed Blake.

"Oh, I see you have some new friends. Just tell me one thing. Do they know the truth about you? Who you are, where you came from?" Upon seeing the look on Blake's face and the sense of confusion from her teammates, Adam laughed. "Thought not. See if they are so willing to protect you when they find out what you really are. I'll be back, and when I am, we'll see just how good these... friends... of yours are." With that, Adam released Blake and stalked off into the night.

"Blake what was that all about? Who was that filthy Faunus?" Weiss asked, staring off in the direction Adam had left.

"He, He is just someone I knew a long time ago." Blake said quietly.

"Well I'm willing to bet that he's part of that group of terrorists, the White Fang." Weiss snarled. Finally regaining some composure, Blake looked at Weiss and said simply, "Excuse me?" Taking this as an invitation to elaborate, Weiss continued, "The White Fang is just a group of worthless Faunus, that use violence to get what they want. Faunus are just liars, thieves, and murderers. My family has been at war with them for years. They are pure evil!" Weiss finished, stomping her foot to emphasize her point.

"There is no such thing as pure evil! You can't honestly believe that all Faunus are horrible people!" Blake countered passionately.

"You're right, I don't. They don't even deserve to be called people. They are just a bunch of degenerates!"

"It's people like you that make the White Fang take such drastic measures!"

"People like me?"

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim! When I said war, I meant actual bloodshed. I have seen family and friends disappear, board members executed. The White Fang and the rest of the Faunus deserve to be wiped of the face of the planet!" Weiss exclaimed. With the last sentence, Blake flashed back to that awful day when she was a child, beaten and left on the sidewalk, and the people who had told her the same thing.

Abandoning all self-control, Blake exclaimed, "Well, maybe we were just tired of getting pushed around!". Realizing what she had just said, she looked nervously at her new friends. She took a nervous step back and then ran off before the others could process what had just happened.

Once she was safely secluded in the woods, Blake reached up and removed her bow. She rubbed the cat ears that sat atop her head and started crying. It was impossible to tell how long she sat there, curled in a ball, sobbing, when she heard footsteps coming towards her quickly. Fearing that Adam had found her again, she tried to stand up, but couldn't muster up the strength to do it. When she looked up, however, she saw a girl with tall rabbit ears looking down at her in surprise.

**_~I got a lot of the fight scene between Weiss and Blake directly from the show, however I like adding my own touch to it. It happened a lot sooner in my story than the actual show, so the characters don't really know each other as well yet. You will be seeing a lot more of Adam and Blake's back story soon. I hope you enjoyed! Reviews and suggestions are much appreciated!_**


	4. Violets and Cats

Chapter 4- Violet and Cats

Velvet found herself leading team VILT (Violet), composed of herself, Iris, Lyla, and Trish. Honestly, Velvet was surprised to find herself as leader of her team. She certainly wasn't the strongest or most confident. She was also the only Faunus on the team. The others didn't seem to have any problems with her, though. Trish was very open to how she felt about the teams. She seemed to despise any form of authority that tried to restrict her. Everything about her screamed rebellion. From her black and red hair, to her maroon leather jacket, to her black combat boots, she did not look like someone to blindly follow orders. Her weapon was a broad, double-edged sword, but she always kept a few dust grenades around her waist just in case she felt the need for an explosion. It was probably best that she wasn't leader. Her partner, Iris, on the other hand, seemed to be the exact opposite. Despite her bright, blue hair, shirt, and shoes, as well as her hot pink eyes and skirt, she was very quiet and mostly kept to herself. Even her weapon, a pair of daggers that she kept up her sleeves, was designed to be silent. Velvet's partner, Lyla, appeared to be fascinated by everything. She asked questions constantly, and never turned away from the opportunity to learn something new. She wore a simple brown sweater, jeans, and tan boots. It was like, by wearing plain clothing, she hoped to be able to keep her focus on her surrounding so she could keep absorbing information. She fought with a shotgun that she could turn into a wicked looking curved blade. Iris and Lyla seemed nice enough, though Velvet was disappointed that Blake was on a different team. Oh well.

In their dorms, Velvet tried to make conversation with her new teammates but found it difficult. She had never really been the social type, but Lyla was willing enough to chat. At first, the conversation seemed to be going well. They talked about their first impressions of the school, who looked like the toughest opponents, opinions on weapons, etc.. But then Lyla asked about the one topic in which Velvet was very sensitive, her ears.

"So, can you, like, hear really well, and stuff, cause of your big ears?" Lyla asked innocently.

"Yes, they do improve my hearing. I also have enhanced speed because of my Faunus nature." Velvet said tensely, automatically waiting to hear an abusive comment or hateful remark.

"That is soooo cool. I wish I had some kind of special power like the Faunus. It is so interesting how they inherit some of the traits of the animal they are connected to. Sometimes I even wish I was a Faunus." Lyla continued, making Velvet stop in her tracks.

"No, you really don't." With that, Velvet decided to go for a walk the woods. She had always felt more comfortable surrounded by trees and grass. She figured it was a combination of her rabbit influences, and the fact that she could be alone with her thoughts without anyone to bother her. Growing up, she was in the woods more often than not in order to avoid the people that tormented her for heritage. She grabbed her jacket and walked out of the building, lost in thought. Lyla was so smart, yet, at the same time, so ignorant. Velvet would never wish upon anyone the suffering she had to endure growing up as a Faunus. Now, with the White Fang going around committing crimes and attacking shops and such, humans are starting to think that all Faunus are a bunch of violent animals. Velvet was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't hear the sound of crying until she stepped into a clearing where a very familiar girl was holding a very familiar bow collapsed at the bottom of a tree, sobbing.

Velvet stood there for a moment, trying to process what she was seeing. Blake was sitting there, and she had cat ears! Well that explains why she was so nice to me earlier. Velvet then sat down beside Blake and put her arm around her. She didn't say anything, just offered her presence as a comfort. Velvet figured that once she calmed down enough, she would talk to her, but until then, Velvet just let the girl cry.

After a while, Blake seemed to have calmed down enough to talk. Very carefully, Velvet asked, "Blake, what happened? Why were you out here all alone?"

Blake replied, "It's kind of a long story."

"I don't have to be anywhere anytime soon."

"Well then, get comfortable. As you can see I'm obviously a Faunus. I wanted to tell you before, but we had only just met. Well, I guess I should start from the beginning. When I was a very young girl, I joined the White Fang." Velvet gasped at this. She just couldn't picture Blake as one of those violent Faunus that used force to get what they wanted. Blake continued, unfazed by Velvet's reaction, as if she was expecting it.

"I guess you could say I was born into it. Both my parents were members so I was attending meetings before I even knew what they were for. Once I was old enough, I attended every rally, participated in every boycott. Back then, it was about getting respect by way of peaceful protest. I even thought that it was working. It turns out that I was just a youthful optimist. Then it all changed when our leader stepped down and a new one took his place. Suddenly our peaceful protests were turning into night raids. We set fire to shops that refused to serve us. The worst part was, it was working. People were starting to respect us. Though it was not out of trust, but of fear. I still might have stayed longer if it hadn't had been for my mother." Blake looked as though she may start crying again. Velvet put a hand on her shoulder and nodded for her to continue. With a deep, shaky breath, Blake started again. "Sorry it's just tough, you know? Reliving everything that you spent the past several years of your life burying. Anyway, one night my mother left to raid a shop. It was totally routine, nothing special. Then she never came home. After that, it didn't take long for me to realize that the White Fang was not doing anybody any good. That's when I dedicated my life to becoming a huntress. All with the help of a little black bow."

Velvet listened to all of this without interruption. She took a moment to collect her thoughts and then came to a decision. "Come on. Get up." Velvet said, standing up quickly. "It's getting late and clearly you don't want to be with your team right now, or else you would be there and not here. You are coming with me back to my dorm. I can talk to your team for you and let them know where you are, but I'll keep them from bothering you until you are ready to talk to them."

Blake got up and put on her bow, clearly surprised by the sudden change of events. "Umm, are you going to your bow back on? Not that I mind, of course, but I wasn't sure if you were ready to tell people, and my teammates, well, some of them are a bit chatty, sooo..." Velvet said nervously. She didn't want to offend Blake and risk her running off. Blake simply nodded and replaced her bow silently. They walked back to Velvet's dorm in silence.

**_~Hey guys, I'm introducing Velvet's team, so please let me know what you think of my OCs so far. I know there's not much to go on yet, but I really appreciate the feedback! Thank you so much for supporting me. I hope to come out with the next chapter soon!_**


	5. Reconciliations

Chapter 5- Reconciliations

"I can't believe it! A member of the White Fang, right beneath our noses." Weiss had been talking like this for the past hour. Spouting different accusations at Blake and suggesting that the team should go to the police.

"Look Weiss, maybe she is and maybe she isn't, but I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." Yang said hoping to pacify her angry teammate.

"I just hope she's okay." Ruby said, clearly worried.

"Blake's a big girl, I'm sure she can take care of herself." Weiss said passively.

"I'm worried, what if that Adam guy comes back. You saw what the sight of him did to her. She completely froze. We should go after her. I don't care what she said, she is still our teammate." The small team leader spoke to her teammates with a tone that made even Weiss reluctantly agree. Just as they all turned to leave, they heard a knock at the door.

"Blake!" Ruby shouted as she raced to the door. When she opened it, however, it wasn't Blake standing there, but a brown-haired girl with rabbit ears sticking out of her head.

"Who are you?" Weiss asked skeptically.

"Hi, I'm Velvet Scarlatina. Your friend, Blake, is safe. Right now she is in my dorm. She told me what happened, and I have something to say to you, Weiss." Weiss looked up at the angry tone in the sweet looking girl's voice.

"You had no right to say the things you did to Blake, even if you didn't know that she is a Faunus. They were hateful and prejudice AND," Velvet continued as Weiss tried to interrupt her, "Blake told me that she was once a member of the White Fang, but left because she didn't approve of their methods. And I, for that matter, have never been interested in joining the now violent White Fang. Look Weiss, I know you have reasons to dislike the White Fang, but there is no reason for you to extend that hate on those who don't deserve it. The Faunus have enough to deal with, without people we think of as friends turning on us. Trust me, getting stabbed in the back by someone you trust, is far worse than getting defeated by an enemy. As for the rest of you," Velvet said addressing Ruby and Yang, "don't try and visit Blake until she's ready. Hopefully it will only be a day or two, because you two seem nice enough, but I hope that you really think about what you will say to her when she gets back." Velvet then stormed out of the room, slammed the door, and left the team to think about what she had said.

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Ruby and Yang looked at each other, and then looked at Weiss. "You know, she has a point. It's not like we judge all humans by the acts of one group, so why should we judge the Faunus that way. I mean, I've never lost anyone to the White Fang, but, like Velvet said, we don't have the right to judge Blake, solely because some of her species despises humanity." Weiss looked at Yang, and just nodded and sat down on her bed.

_Blake was right, _Weiss thought_, I'm discriminatory. No wonder the White Fang hates humanity. It's because of people like me. *_Sigh_* I will have to find some way to make this up to her when she comes back. I can't have her hate me forever, we are going to have to work together for our team to be successful. I guess I'll figure something out._ A single tear ran down Weiss's cheek as she fell asleep.

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The next day team RWBY, minus Blake, went down to the cafeteria early, hoping to see their teammate there. They saw her sitting at a table with Velvet and three other girls, presumably the rest of Velvet's team. The girls decided that Ruby should go over first to see how Blake was, since she was least likely to upset her. Ruby walked over to the table nervously and stood there for a moment before quietly saying "Umm, Blake? I just wanted to see if you were okay. We are all really, really sorry about what happened. I mean, I totally get if you are still mad, some nasty things were said, but we are all really worried about you and-" Ruby was cut off from her rambling speech as Blake stood up and wrapped her in a hug. The surprised leader stammered, "B-Blake, I-I-I don't r-really-".

"Shut up." Blake said to Ruby. "Ruby, I was never really mad at you, or Yang for that matter. Look, I really appreciate your apology, but you are not the one I need to hear it from." Blake looked at Weiss, who had taken a sudden interest in her shoes. Slowly Weiss looked up and walked over to Blake.

"Blake, I'm not going to come up to you and say that I'm sorry for yelling at you or that I never should have said those things, because at the time, I believed them and I won't apologize for defending my beliefs. However, I will say this. After talking to Velvet, and really giving this some thought, I decided that you were right. I was judging you on something you had no control over and that is wrong. And... I really am sorry that I offended you with my childish beliefs and I want to make it up to you. So if there is anything you need, just ask." Everyone looked at Weiss, shocked by her apology. Then taking everybody by surprise again, Blake grabbed Weiss and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Wha- ? You're not still mad? I thought you would be furious!" Weiss stammered.

"Weiss, all I wanted was to fit in with my team. I actually didn't think you would be so quick to change your mind about the Faunus. I've known people that, well, let's just say they weren't as accepting as you." Blake shook her head as if trying to clear her head. Velvet put a hand on her shoulder and Blake gave her a gracious look.

"Well, if that's all done with, how bout you guys sit with us to eat." Trish said, breaking the silence.

"Sure that sounds like a great idea!" Yang said, jumping at the chance to make some new friends. So the two teams sat, laughed, and ate breakfast together, everyone happy that everything worked out.

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Though she was ecstatic about the way things had turned out, there was still a thought at the back of Blake's mind. It was a thought that never really went away, but now she had been thinking about it more and more. The one thing that frightened her more than any monster could.

Adam.


End file.
